Recruiting an Entire HR Team into a Fast-Moving Company

By Mar Hernandez, Co-Founder and Partner

A month after NU launched, we received an assignment that would be challenging for any search firm: hire a chief people officer (CPO) and the entire senior staff for the HR department of a rapidly growing company. We were brought in by OMERS Private Equity, the $23 billion affiliate of Ontario’s behemoth public pension fund. It had acquired more than 15 HVAC companies in the United States, combining them under the name Modigent.

At first, they wanted us to find a temporary CPO to look after HR while we were filling the permanent position. I knew just the person: Susana Sala, who has held senior HR roles at Paramount Global and Bacardi. She can be strategic and hands-on at the same time, exactly the type of leader that private equity investors look for.

Susana made such a good impression on Dennis W. Shuler, a key adviser to OMERS, and then Dan Bueschel, Modigent’s CEO, that they hired her as the permanent CPO. She became our main contact as we recruited five other leaders for the team. That part of the assignment was coordinated by Penina Remler, an associate partner who joined us from the in-house recruiting team at Google.

Susana recently talked to us about her experience.

NU: Unusually, you were a client and a candidate in this search. Let’s start with the experience of being recruited by NU.

Susana Sala (SS): :My experience starts with the trust I’ve built with Mar over many years. We’d never done business together, but she made a point to get to know all the executives in Miami. At one of our regular breakfasts a few years ago, she asked if I’d be interested in working in private equity, suggesting it would suit my direct style and skills. I didn’t think about it again until she called me last year about Modigent. And because I trusted her, I took a call with the company to talk about a temporary role. A month later, I received an offer letter for a permanent position!

NU: When you started, NU was already working on searches for what would become your senior HR leadership team. Describe the challenges of that assignment.

SS: We were building the plane while we were flying it. We’d grown from 500 to 1,500 employees in a year, and there was a need to build the basics in HR to scale with efficiency — payroll and compensation processes, talent acquisition proposition, and talent strategy. At the same time, we were creating a strategic plan to add value at the exit. At first, I was looking for senior candidates from the HVAC industry who could build and think strategically at the same time. As I learned more, I realized we needed to look outside the industry and that we would do better hiring people with hunger for learning, resilience, and real potential to grow.

NU: What was it like working with NU to fill these roles?

SS: NU was very flexible. I was evolving my thinking because I was learning about the company and what was needed. At one point, I totally changed the profile and requirements, because I realized that what we were searching for was not adding the skills we needed. Penina was very patient and communicating a lot more frequently, discussing candidates with me in writing and on calls. She understood my thinking process as it evolved, which is so important, and she was very quick to bring me candidates that fit.

NU: What did you hear from the candidates about their experience being recruited by NU?

SS: Everybody said they loved Penina. She got to be very close with candidates, providing a lot of information about Modigent, the culture and my own leadership style, keeping them informed and secure, even as we changed what we were looking for. In my experience, if candidates love a search firm, they will prioritize that firm’s opportunities. It’s a point of differentiation for NU.

NU: Once you settled on the right profiles, how did the searches go?

SS: The process was really, really fast. We were able to incorporate five people in 30 days.

NU: Anything else you want to add?

SS: What stands out for me about NU is the flexibility, constant communication, and the trust their model builds with clients and candidates. Other people may love their database and their reports, I know that they feel very proud about that too. I don’t have time for that, I have to confess I do not even read the reports because I trust them. When they bring a candidate to me, it’s right.

NU: It is. Thank you for talking with us.

SS:  Thank you!

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